Website accessibility statement

The building is located in the centre of Warsaw, in the district of Śródmieście. It is surrounded by the streets ul. Wspólna, ul. Krucza, ul. Hoża and Plac Trzech Krzyży. The ministerial building can be reached by car or public transport, including by subway (M1 line – Centrum station), by tram (the stops Krucza 05, Krucza 06, Hoża 03 and Hoża 04), and by bus (the stops Pl. Trzech Krzyży 03, Pl. Trzech Krzyży 52, Krucza 01, Krucza 02, Wspólna 01 and Wspólna 02).

The building can be accessed via three entrances. The main entrance to the building is at 20 Hoża Street; the building can be also accessed via two entrances from Wspólna Street. Guests should use the main entrance. The main entrance is adapted to the needs of the disabled people using wheelchair users.

The reception desk is located in the lobby, opposite the main entrance. To enable deaf visitors to receive sounds via hearing aids fitted with T coils, the reception desk is equipped with an audio induction loop system. The reception desk is located opposite the front door and has a station to comfortably serve wheelchair users. To the left of the entrance is a cloakroom, and to the right is a waiting room for guests and waiting persons, equipped with a water dispenser.

In the lobby, above the reception desk, there are electronic notice boards, which display data in contrasting colours. The boards are hung at a height convenient for wheelchair users and short people. Other areas of the building can be accessed only via electronic gates, which are wide enough for wheelchair users. Guests and visitors may not move around the building without being accompanied by a member of the security team or by members of the staff of the department/office they are visiting.

The building has four lifts adapted to the needs of the disabled people, wheelchair users and visually impaired visitors; embossed floor buttons illuminated with contrasting colours enable visually impaired visitors to read the floor numbers in Braille. The lifts support voice messages that inform their users of the current floor, and the opening and closing of the lift doors. The lifts are equipped with wall-mounted retractable chairs. Corridors and rooms are adapted to the needs of wheelchair users on all floors of the building (ground floor and floors 1–5). The thresholds between the corridors and the office rooms are at the same level as the floor. In exceptional cases, the height of thresholds complies with regulations in force and does not exceed 2 cm. To make the thresholds more visible, they are marked with high contrast colours.

Two vertical passageways (stairs) are located on the right and on the left sides of the building. The first and the last steps of the stairs are marked with yellow warning stripes. Tactile (Braille) legends are embossed on handrails to inform visually impaired visitors where the stairs lead. The inner continuous handrail marks the escape route for the visually impaired, while the outer noncontinuous handrail marks the regular transport route.

The disabled toilet is located on the ground floor, in the right (eastern) wing of the building. The toilet is equipped with an emergency button to summon assistance and with a toilet seat with armrests that facilitates use of the lavatories.

At the entrance to the car park, next to the gate barrier, there is a loudspeaker and a button that can be used by visually impaired visitors to summon assistance.

One marked disabled parking place is available in the car park of the Ministry, which is located in front of the building. Next to the entrance to the car park of the Ministry (in front of the gate barrier on ul. Hoża), two additional disabled parking spaces marked by upright signs are available to the public. The parking space in the car park of the Ministry is integrated with a passageway (pavement). The path that leads to the main entrance is lowered to ground level and is adapted to the needs of disabled visitors. The visibility of the pavement curb is increased by high contrast colours. The traffic in the car park of the Ministry is handled by the security team who, at visitors’ request, can help in using a parking space and accessing the building.

Assistance dogs and guide dogs that accompany visually impaired or disabled visitors are permitted in all areas of the building. The building is not marked with a pictogram informing visitors of this possibility.

The building has signs with information in large print for partially-sighted visitors (the route that leads to the main exit from the building on the ground floor). Two evacuation chairs for disabled and unconscious visitors are located on the fifth floor.

The building is equipped with an acoustic fire alarm system. Evacuation procedures consider assistance provided to visitors who have special needs.